Rotary engine



Nn. 625,799. v Patnted May 30, H899. J. W. PICKEL & R. SNYDER.

BUTARY ENGINE.

(Appucacin mea oca. a1, 199s.)

(No Model.)

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No. 625,799. yPatented May so', |8519.

J. W. PICKEL 6. R. SNYDER. ROTARY ENGINE.v

(Application med oct. s1, 189s.) (No Model.)

4 Sheets-Shaet 2.

No. 625,799. Patented May 30, |899. J. W. PIGKEL &. R. SNYDER.

RUTARY ENGINE.

(Application led Oct. 31, 1898.)

(No Model.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

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. Patented May 30, |899. J. W. PICKEL & R. SNYDER. f

ROTARY ENGINE.'

(Application med out. s1, .1898.)

(No Model.)

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"n y @M2M `mately on line 1 1, Fig. 2.

ixiiTvEDfV STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN w. PIOKEL AND ROBERT SNYDER, OF CRYSTAL orTY, MISSOURI.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.`625,799, dated May 30,- 1899.

' Application led October 81, 1898. Serial No. 695,074. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that We, JOHN W. PICKEL and ROBERT SNYDER,citizens of the United States, residing at Crystal City, in the county of Jefferson and State of Missouri, have made a certain new and useful Improvement in Rotary Engines, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in Which- Figure 1 is in part a front elevational View andin part a vertical sectional View taken just inside the cylinderhead or approxi- Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View on line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an inside elevational view'of the cylinder-head. Fig. 4 is an inverted plan view of the same. Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of the cylinder. Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional View on line 6 6, Fig. 5. Fig.`7 is a horizontal sectional view of the piston on line 7 7, Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is an end view of one end of the piston. Fig. 9 is an end elevational View of the opposite.end of the piston. Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view on line 10 10, Fig. S. Fig. 11 is a detail side elevational View ot'one ot' the piston-heads. Fig. 12isahorizontal sectional view on line 1212, Fig. 1. Fig. 13 is an enlarged front elevational View, partly in section, of the automatic cut-Off mechanism employed in carrying out our invention. Fig. 14 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 15 is a side elevational view of the same, parts being broken out to econornize space; and Fig. 16 is a vertical sectional View on line 16 16, Fig. 13.

This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in rotary engines, and has for its object simplicity in construction and operation, resulting in an engine that will be economical in its use of steam, air, or other pressure. i

The essential features of this invention reside, first, in the novelconstruction of the engine propel', which, in general terms, is com` posed of Avery few parts-namely, a cylinder, piston, piston-heads, main shaft, and cylinderhead, together with a suitable base, which not only acts as a foundation for `the engine proper, but also acts as a valve-casing for a Valve, which will hereinafter be fully described; second, in'the novel construction of the valve, which is -so proportioned and arranged that by simply throwing an operatinglever in one direction or the other the engine may be reversed at will; third, in the novel construction and arrangement of the alltomatio cut-oft device, whereby the engine will automatically take onl y the required amount of steam, air, or other pressure Huid for the load to be carried, thus economiziug in the use of said pressure fluid, as it is awell-known fact that engines require in starting considerably. more power than is needed after the engine has been running a short time, and in excessively heavy loads it is often necessary to give the enginetull boiler-pressure When steam is the pressure fluid, which after the ily-wheel has reached a certain speed is unnecessary, as the momentum of the same assists the engine to such an extent thatsaid I steam may be out down considerably, only allowing boiler-pressure to drive the piston a portion of its stroke, and when said steam is cutoff entirely the piston travels the balance of its distance on expansion, andin'ally, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement, and combination of its several parts, all as will be hereinafter fully described and afterward pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, 1 indicates a suitable oasing, the interior of which is the cylinder proper of our improved rotary engine, which is mounted upon a suitable base 2.

3 indicates a suitablecylinder-head bolted or otherwise secured to one end of the casing 1, which is preferably made in two sections, whereby the upper section 4 may be removed to gain access to the interior of the engine without necessitating the removal of the entire head.

5 indicates the main shaft of our engine, which is suitably journaled in therear end 6 `of the casing or cylinder 1 and the head 3.

7 indicates a piston located within cylinder :1, keyed or otherwise secured tothe main shaft 5.

S indicates an inwardly-projecting iange from the inside face of the end 6 of the cylinder, which is concentric with the main shaft fand the cylinder for nearly its entire length `with the exception of a space atV its bottomfe'dge.

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9 indicates a projection extending inwardly from the inside of the end 6 of the cylinder and whose outer edge is concentric with the main shaft. This projection 9 is located directly beneath the opening left in the projection 8, being sufficiently far away therefrom to leave a groove 10,.

11 indicates an abutment preferable formed upon the lower inner face of the cylinder, its upper edge being concentric to and of a radius equal to that of the piston 7.

The cylinder head 3 or, more correctly speaking, the cylinder-head formed of the sections 3 and 4 is provided with an inwardlyprojecting portion 12, which is concentric with the main shaft except fora space at its bottom edge.

13 indicates a raised inwardly-projecting portion whose outer periphery is concentric with the main shaft. This projection 13 is located a suitable'distance away from the opening in the projection 12 to leave a groove 14. These projections 12 and 13 are exactly the same in proportion as projections 8 and 9 on the cylinder.

The piston 7 is provided on one of its ends with a concentric groove 15, and on itsother end is formed a similar groove 1G. The diameter of the outer edgek of these grooves is equivalent to twice the radius of the distance between the center of the shaft and the outer edge of the projections 9 and 13, and when said piston is mounted upon its shaft and placed upon the cylinder and the cylinderhead secured in position a groove will have been formed between the outer edge of the groove 15 and the outer edge of the projections 8 and 13. Thus it will be seen that from one edge of the projections 9 and 13 and surrounding the shaft is a concentric groove, its symmetry only being interrupted at the location of said projections 9 and 13, and which when the pistou is thus in place forms what will be termed a cam-groove.7

The piston 7 is provided throughout its depth with radial grooves 17, preferably two in number and in. which are designed to slide suitable piston-heads 18. These piston-heads are provided on each side of their inner eX- tremities with suitable cylindrical pins or projections 19, which are designed to travel in the cam-grooves formed by the placing of the piston within the cylinder and then placing the cylindenhead in position, as before stated.

The piston-head 18 is of a length equal to the distance between the inside face of the rear wall 6 of the cylinder and the cylinder-head except for the cut-out portions 20, formed on each end between the cylindrical ends 19 and the ripper portion of said pistonhead. The object of these cut-out portions is to enable the piston-head to pass by the projections 9 and 13 when the piston-head is moving inwardly.

The abutment 11, which, as before stated, is concentric with the main shaft for a short distance, gradually tapers from where it ceases to be concentric toward the inner face of the cylinder, into which it merges by a suitable curve. This abutment is for the purpose of cutting off the steam-space at this point, and in the inclined approaches to said abutment before referred to are located suitable ports 21 and .22,suitable packings 23 being preferably placed in the concentric portion of dthe abutment for the purpose of preventing steam or other pressure fluid from passing between the piston and said abutment.

The base 2, which is also a valve-casing, contains a suitable hollow slide-Valve 24. This slide-valve is designed to fit steam-tight within this casing, so that no steam will be allowed to pass between its top= bottom, or sides and said casing. In the upper edge of this steam-valve are arranged suitable ports 25 and 26, said ports being arranged closer together than are the ports 21 and 22, with which they are designed to cooperate, in order that when said slide-valve is in a central position within the chest neither of t-he ports 25 or 2G will be in registration with the ports 21 and 22.

27 and 28 indicate shafts pivotally mounted in the slide-valve and have secured thereon segmental gears 29 and 30, said segments being in mesh with racks 29Cl and 30a, respectively, secured to auxiliary slide-valves 32 and 33. The shafts 27 and 28 are, as stated,

pivotally mounted in said slide-valve and eX- tend outwardly through suitable slots 34 and 35, formed in the casing.

36 indicates an operating-lever, preferably pivoted to a lug 37 and, continuing therefrom, terminates in a short member 38.

39 indicates a rod secured to one end of the slide-valve 24, 'said rod 39 passing through a IOO suitable opening formed in one end of the casing, and its outer end is pivotally secured to the free end of the member 38 of the operating-lever.

40 indicates a suitable notched segment, which is designed to cooperate with a latch secured to the operating-lever, the notches of said notched segments being designed to control the position of said operating-lever,which in turn controls the position of the slide-valve, as is obvious.

The base 2, which houses in the slideevalve, is of a length equal to the length of the slidevalve plus the distance that said slide-valve is intended totravel, or, in other words, is as much longer than the valve as is the distance that the valve must move from a full port registration at one end to a full port registration at the opposite end.

41 indicates a steam-inlet port formed in the valve-casing, in registration with which is a slot 42, formed in the slide-valve'. This TIO describe the operation of the engine proper, which is as follows: When it is desired to operate the engine in either direction, the lever 36 is thrown from its central position in one direction or the other, depending upon the direction in which the engine is intended to move. In the drawings it has been thrown inward1y,whicl1 will cause the piston to travel in the direction indicated by the arrow. This movement of the lever inwardly throws the member 38 outwardly, which movement causes the slide-valve 24 to move to the right, which brings the port 25 into proper registration with the port 22, admitting steam into the space between the piston and the cylinder. Said steam, then exerting pressure against the piston-head 18, causes said piston Ato revolve',and,as there are two piston-heads illustrated in the drawings,when one has caused the piston to make a half-revolution, starting from the port 22, the other will have been passed over the abutment 11 and over the port 22 and will then receive pressure behind it. The steam coniined between these two pistons will be exhausted through port 21, as, when the slide-valve is moved to the position shown in thedrawings in Fig. 1, when the ports 22 and 25 are brought intoregistration, the opposite end of the slide-valve uncovers the port 21 and exhausts the steam therethrough, which steam, passing through the port 21, will enter the valve-casing outside the valve,where it can then communicate with the atmosphere through the exhaustopenings 43 and 44.

When it is desired to stop the engine, the

operating-lever 36 is thrown outwardly until the catch on said lever cooperates with thev central notch in the segment 40. This movement will cause the slide-valve 24 to move to a central position within its casing. This movement bringing both ports 25 and 26 between the ports 2l and 22, it will be seen that no steam from the inside of the valve can communicate with the interior of the engine, and now to reverse the engine it is only7 necessary to pull the lever 36 outwardly. This movement throws the slide-valve to the left, bringing the ports 21 and 26 into registration and taking port 22 out ot registration with port 25 and permitting the port 22 to communicate with the interior of the valve-casing in like manner as the port 21 is shown communicating with the interiorl of the casing in Fig. 1. This movement to the left of the slide-valve lets steam pass through the ports 26 and 21 into the steam-chest, between the piston and the cylinder,which steam will then exert pressure against the piston-head and cause the piston to revolve in the opposite direction to that in which it revolved when the lever 36 was in the position shown in the drawings. The engine will exhaust through ports 22 and 44.

We will nowdescribe the construction and operation of our improved automatic cut-oft device.

indicates a wheel 'whose proportions, generally speaking, are quite similar to that of a ily-wheel or pulley, the same consistingl of a rim 46, spokes 47, and hub 48.

49 and 50 indicate segments of a circle, 'which are placed within the space between the hub 48 and the rim 46 of the wheel and are located outside the spokes 47.

5l indicates suitable keepers or guides secured to the rim 46 and the spokes 47 of said.

wheel, and between said keepers or guides and said spokes said segments are permitted to slide. When these segments 49 and 50 are in a normal position, they are eccentric to the shaft 5, on which said wheel 45 is secured, the ends 51a and 52 being nearest the rim of the wheel. Secured to the ends 51a and 52 are springs 53 and 54, the other ends of said springs being secured to suitable adjusting means in the form of a screw and nut, and lugs 55, secured to the hub 48.

. 56 and 57 indicate suitable springs secured near the other ends of said segments 49 and 50, to the opposite ends of which springs are also connected Asuitable adjusting means, whereby the tension ot' said springs may be properly regulated.

58 and 59 indicate spurs projecting outwardly from the outer edge of the segments, 49 and 50, which spurs'are designed to cooperate with suitable openings 60 and 61, formed in the rim 46 ot' the wheel 45.

62, 63, and 64 indicate spurs located at and 66, and as the construction of these parts on the other side of the spokes is identical in every respect toA that of the parts just described itis deemed unnecessary to more fully describe them, except to say that their relative positions when viewed from the same side of the wheel, as shown in Fig. 13, arejust the reverse-thatis to say, that instead of the ends 5l and 52 of the segments 49 and 50, which are the closest to the rim of the wheel. 45, being to the right they are to the left, the reason for this being that when the engine is running in one direction the segments 49 and 50 are acted upon by centrifugal force in such a manner as to cause the projections on said segments to protrude throughsuitableslo'ts in t-he rim ot' the wheel, the projection 59 starting first, and when the engine is running in the opposite direction the action oi' these projections must be just the saine.

Shafts 27 and 28 are mounted in and carried by the slide-valve 24 and extend outwardly through suitable openings 34 and 35,.

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as before mentioned. Upon the outer ends of these shafts are secured levers 67 and 68, said levers being hereinafter more clearly described by reference to the members '69 and 70.

7l and 72 indicate arms pivotally secured to the members 69 and 70, respectively, and are each provided at a point near their upper ends with a shoulder 73 or 74, the shoulder 73 being designed to cooperate with anyof the protruding spurs of the segments 49 and 50 that it is proper that it should so cooperate with, that point being determined by the position of the rock-shafts 27 and 28,`and the shoulder 74 being designed to cooperate with a suitable lug 75, permanently secured to the inner face of the wheel 45. The upper ends of these levers 7l and 72 are supported by a bracket 7 6, said support being formed by suitable screws or pins 77 and 78, passing through suitable slots formed in the arms 7l and 72 to permit of their vertical vibration.

79 and 8O indicate suitable abutinents for the ends of the segments 49 and 50 to prevent the same from shifting from their intended position. It will be observed from a glance at Fig. 13 that when the slide-valve 24 has been shifted from one running position to the other running position its carried shafts 27 and 28 will likewise be shifted, this being permitted by the grooves 34 and 35, and when the machine vis in the position shown in Fig. 13 the arms 7l and 72 to the right of the ligure are in correct cooperating position with the wheel 45, but arms 7l and 72 to lthe left of the ligure are out of a correct cooperating position. When the slide-valve and the shafts 27 and 28 are moved to the right, the arms 7l and 72 to the left swing on the screws 77 and 78, which causes the ends bearing the shoulders 73 and 74 to move away from the wheel 45. This movement is advantageous, inasmuch as it is undesirable to have these arms 7l and 72 on the left of the machine cooperating with the projections of the segments 49 and 50 should they be thrown out by centrifugal force, for the reason that it would simply cause the slide-valve 32, through the intermediacy of the segment 29, to slide back and forward. While there would be no great objection vto this movement of the slide-valve when the engine is in this position, for the reason that the port 26, which cooperates with slide-valve 30, is blinded. The objection to the verticalv vibrating movement of these arms 7l and 72 to the left of the figure resides in the fact that the movement is idle and accomplishes nothing.

We will now describe the operation of this cut-oifmechanism. When the engine is running in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. l and is taking steam through the ports 22 and 25, it is undesirable to have the engine taking full boiler-pressure all the time, because, as previously stated, boiler-pressure is only needed when the engine is starting, and unless some means is provided for cutting off the steam the unexpanded steam 'would be exhausted in the opposite side of the engine, which would be simplya waste of steam, as is well understood. After the engine has started and momentum has been given to the y-Wheel the wheel 45, which is secured to the main shaft 5 of the engine,will be revolving, and when a certain speed is reached centrifugal force tends to throw the segments 49 and 50 away from the center of the shaft or toward the rim of 'the wheel, and l as these segments move outwardly the projections on the ends 5l and 52 of the segments will protrude through openings in the rim of the wheel a sufficient distance to cause the same to contact with/the shoulder 73 on the arm 7l and draw same upwardly. This move ment rocks shaft 28 and its carried segment 30 and causes the auxiliary slide-valve 33, through the intermediacv of the rack carried thereon, to move in such a position as to take the port in said slide-valve out of registration with the port 25, while this slide-valve blinds said port 25, thus cutting olf steam from the engine. This slide-valve will remain in this position until the permanent lug or projection 75 on the inner face of the wheel 45 contacts with the shoulder 74 on the end of the arm 72, and when said lug 75 does contact therewith the arm 72 will be moved upwardly, thereby rocking the shaft 28 in the opposite direction to that in which itwas rocked by the arm 7l, which movement will throw the segment 30 and the rack and auxiliary valve 33 in the proper position to cause the port in said auxiliary valve to again register with the port 25. It will be observed from a glance at the drawings that the projections 75, secured to the inner face of the wheel 45, are diametrically opposite, which means that the arms 72 will be acted upon at every half-revolution or twice in one revolution, the reason for this being that as. the engine has two piston-heads it takes steam behind each pistonhead in every revolution, or in every halfrevolution of the piston steam is taken behind the piston-head, and the projections 75 are designed to cooperate with a notch 74 at exactly the same time that the piston-head passes either the port 2l or the port 22, depending upon the direction in which the engine is running. When a certain speed has been attained, the spur or projection 58 will have been forced through the opening in the rim of the wheel and be ready to cooperate with the notch 73. This will cut off the steam in the engine after the piston has traveled the greatest part of its stroke; but now if the engine still increasesin speed centrifugal force will so act upon the segments 49 and 50 as to cause the next preceding spur 64 to protrude, and when this projection 64 does protrude it will bethen the iirst to engage the notch 73, which will cause the steam to be cut off before the piston has traveled as far as it had traveled when the projection 58 was thrown out and cut the steam olf. lf the speed continues to increase, the next projection 63 will 625,799 f l f 5A lcreases the notch 62 will protrude, and finally the notch 59, which latterwill cause the engine to cut off steam almost after receiving it, andas the steam is cutoff by these various projections protruding through the rim of the wheel the piston-head is caused to continue Yto move in the same direction by expansion.

It will be observed that theprojections 62, 63, and 64 are spring-actuated, the purpose of this being to prevent them protruding too far beyond the periphery of the wheel 45, this being accomplished by the shoulders arranged near their points, which contact with suitable stops around the openings through which said points protrude, and when its movement outwardlyis thus limited by said stops the segments 49 and 50 'may -continue to move outwardly by simply compressing the interposed springs between said stops and the segments. The inner ends of these projections will then simply slide through the slots in which they are located inl the segments.l

XVe are aware that many minor changes in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the several 'parts of our engine can be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without in the least departing from the nature and principle of our invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a rotary engine, the combination with a cylinder formed with an abutment and su pply and exhaust ports in juxtaposition to said abutment, of cylinder-heads formed with inwardly-projecting flanges 8 and 12, and projections 9 and 13 respectively, a piston-headv having concentric grooves in its ends to f orin a camlgroove, radially-movable piston-heads mounted in said piston, lateral projections on the inner ends of said piston-heads which are received in said cam-grooves formed by said iianges and said piston-head, whereby said piston-heads are caused to move radially in their rotation, a main hollow slide-valve for coperatin g with the inlet and exhaust ports of the cylinder, auxiliary slide-valves mounted in said main valve, and means for automatically operating said auxiliary valves for cutting off pressure iiuid from the engine; substantially as described.

2. The combination with a cylinder, of a valve-casing communicating with said cylinder by ports near each end thereof, va hollow main valve arranged in said valve-casing for receiving pressure and admitting the same to the cylinder through at least one of said ports, the exhaust from the cylinder through the other of said valves passing into the valvecasing, means for moving said hollow main valve,rockshafts mounted in said main valve, means for rocking said shafts, a slide-valve connected to and operated by said rock-shafts for controlling the ports at the ends of said `hollow 'main valves; substantially as described.

. 3. The combination with a cylinder, of a valve-casing communicating therewith at each end,a hollow main valve slidingly mounted in said casing and formed with two ports `at its ends, one of which is designed toregister with a cylinder-port when the last-named Valve is in either of its extreme positions,

slide-valves mounted Within the hollow main valve for controlling the ports at the ends thereof, rock-shafts provided with segments for operating said slide-valve, and means for operating said hollow main valve without disturbing the relative position of said auxiliary slide-valve; substantially as described.

4. Ina centrifugal automatic cut-olf for engines, the combination of a wheel secured to a shaft, .segments arranged on said wheel, springs secured to said segments and to said wheel, projections or spurs arranged on said segments, an arm provided with a shoulder arranged in juxtaposition to said projections, and means cooperating with said armV for controlling the admission of pressure fluid to said engine, whereby, when said shaft and its carried segments are caused to rotate, centrifugal action will force said segments and theircarried projections or spurs into the path of the shoulder formed on said arm, and move the same, substantially as described.

5. In a centrifugal automatic cut-olffor engines, the combination with a shaft, of a wheel secured thereto, segments carried by said wheel, tension-springs secured to said segments and said wheel, projections or spurs carried by said segments, registering openings formed in the rim of said wheel for receiving said projections or spurs, an arm provided with a shoulder arranged in juxtaposition to said wheel, whereby, when centrifugal action forces one or more of said projections or spurs on said segments outwardly through their registering openings, said arm will be in the path of said projection, or projections, and cause the same to be raised, and a valve which is operated by said automatic cut-off for controlling the admission of pressure fluid to saidengine, substantially as described.

6. In a rotary engine, the combination with a main slide-valve and its carried parts, of means for causing said slide-valve to admit pressure fluid into the engine and, at the same time, permit of the exhaust of said pressure fluid from the engine, rock-shafts carried by said main slide-valve, auxiliary slide-valves arranged within said main valve, means for converting the rocking motion of said rockshafts into rectilinear motion of the auxiliary slide-valves, means for cooperating with said rock-shafts, an automatic cut-off for operating said auxiliary slide-valves, and anautomatic centrifugal devicefor controlling said cut-off, said centrifugal device and said means for operating the auxiliary slide-valves being IDO wheel is revolving, said projections or spurs will be forced through the registering openings in the rim of said Wheel progressively as the speed of the Wheel increases, andl means cooperating with said spurs for Variably diminishing the amount of steam supplied to the engine as the speed increases, and these spurs are progressively protruded, substantiaily as described.

In testimony whereof We hereunto afx our signatures, in the presence of twowitnesses, this 18th day of October, 1898.

' JOHN W. PICKEL. ROBT. SNYDER.

Witnesses:

HUGH K. WAGNER, WM. H. SCOTT. 

